forkbelly.comhttp://forkbelly.com
Plant-Based Recipes. Fill your belly, fuel your body, flourishWed, 07 May 2014 14:42:54 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.7.22Lettuce Wrapshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/mEo9GdcFlck/
http://forkbelly.com/lettuce-wraps/#commentsFri, 02 Aug 2013 15:57:49 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3573Read More »]]>Good news for those of you who like to change and tweak recipes. This is one of those dishes where you should absolutely toss in whatever you like. Be creative and throw caution to the wind. Substitute away. The only caveat to that concerns the peanut sauce. I wouldn’t change a thing. Please don’t change a thing. I feel kind of protective about this sauce because it’s amazing and it’s what makes these wraps taste so amazing. Half the sauce goes into your filling mixture and the other half is used as a topping. (If you have any sauce leftover, try it on other things. You’ll be astounded what it does to a plain bowl of quinoa.)

This dish can be adapted for many different diets besides vegan. If you’re cooking for someone who follows the Paleo diet or is counting their carbs, add chopped chicken and omit the rice and/or noodles. Gluten-free? Just make sure your hoisin sauce is gluten-free and use gluten-free Tamari instead of soy sauce. Your ingredient list is limitless, but everything should be chopped well or julienned so the wraps will roll up easily. I found a bag of rainbow slaw at my local grocery store that had broccoli and cauliflower in matchstick form, which to me is a huge time-saver and a great way to add more nutrition. If that’s not available, a good substitution would be a bag of cabbage slaw. You can use any type of lettuce for the wraps, but Bibb lettuce is a bit softer with a rounder leaf and it’s easier to roll up than some of the other lettuce varieties.

I listed the filling ingredients the way I make it, but everything is optional. Other good substitutions would be sweet onions, garlic, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, and zucchini. This is an incredibly fresh, healthy dish, perfect for a summer party appetizer or a light dinner.

To prepare sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallot, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add ⅔ cup water and next 3 ingredients (through red pepper), and stir with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice.

To prepare filling, spread crumbled tofu in a single layer on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 20 minutes, pressing down occasionally.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon sesame oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms from pan and add another tablespoon of sesame oil. Add green onions; sauté 1 minute. Add tofu; sauté for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rainbow slaw and sauté for 3 minutes, until just slightly wilted. Put the mushrooms back in. Add the water chestnuts, soy sauce, ginger and Sriracha; sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in rice or noodles and half the peanut sauce. Mix well.

Spoon mixture into each lettuce leaf. Top with peanuts. Serve with the other half of the sauce. These are good with the filling warmed, room temperature or chilled.

]]>http://forkbelly.com/lettuce-wraps/feed/0http://forkbelly.com/lettuce-wraps/Taboulihttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/vgRXx2BMqtE/
http://forkbelly.com/tabouli/#commentsWed, 08 May 2013 15:20:34 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3480Read More »]]>Spring is finally here, and with it comes the reopening of one of my favorite places to shop: my local farmers market. I love to wander through the stalls bursting with gorgeous fresh spring produce. Last weekend I bought some elephantine green onions and some fresh bunches of mint and parsley, and I had the beginnings of what I needed to make this pretty spring/summer salad.

Tabouli is a Middle Eastern dish, traditionally made with bulgar. It’s light and bright and part of the Mediterranean diet that health experts are recommending. There’s no cooking involved in this recipe, except for boiling some water. This salad makes a great lunch, or for a light dinner, serve it with pita bread and hummus.

(If you are not vegan, some feta cheese sprinkled on top would be delicious.)

Note: I added the extra (optional) step of simmering the minced garlic in the olive oil. This makes the garlic less harsh and infuses the olive oil with a nice garlicky flavor. If you don’t mind raw garlic, you can skip this step and add it directly to the salad.

Rinse bulgar in a strainer and then place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and let sit, covered, until tender (about 15 minutes). While you’re waiting, you can start chopping the vegetables. Drain off any remaining water in the bulgar.

Pour the olive oil in a small skillet and simmer the garlic over low heat for a few minutes. Let cool slightly and then add it to the bulgar. (Or just add the raw garlic and olive oil to the bulgar.) Add the lemon juice. Mix well.

Mix in all the remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve cold.

]]>http://forkbelly.com/tabouli/feed/0http://forkbelly.com/tabouli/Udon Noodles with Seven Spicehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/O2pUFnrH4nk/
http://forkbelly.com/udon-noodles-with-seven-spice/#commentsMon, 06 May 2013 14:57:25 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3413Read More »]]>One of my guidelines in choosing which recipes to post is whether the ingredients are readily available at most grocery stores. I’m making an exception this time for two reasons: the first is simply because this recipe is really, really good. The second reason is that my search for the Japanese Seven Spice took me to an Asian market (Jing Jing in Factoria for those of you who live in the Seattle area) where I found a world of amazing products priced much lower than in the Asian food aisle of my supermarket. I came out of there with noodles of all shapes and sizes, sauces, curries and of course the Seven Spice, which is the key ingredient that sets this dish apart from all the other noodle recipes.

Seven Spice, or Nanami Togarashi, contains orange peel, black sesame, white sesame, ginger, Japanese pepper, and seaweed. Togarashi is the Japanese word for chilies, and this spice is hot. Shichimi Togarashi is also called seven spice and is a close cousin, with a slightly different proportion of ingredients emphasizing citrus zest. Either one is fine to use in this recipe, but don’t try to substitute Chinese Five Spice- it’s a completely different animal.

The other thing that is an absolute requirement for this recipe is a non-stick skillet. After boiling the noodles you put them in the skillet with a little oil and then cook them and flip them like a pancake. If you don’t use a non-stick skillet, guess what? They stick. I know this from first-hand experience. This method of double cooking the noodles turns out a dish where some of the noodles are crispy, and some are soft. Our friend, James, who gave me the recipe enthusiastically described it, “It’s a feast for the senses. Not only does it taste fantastic, it looks beautiful and smells amazing, and you get the sensory feel of the soft and crispy noodles in your mouth. It’s got it all.”

If you are using tofu, open the package and drain it. Slice the tofu in half width-wise and put the two blocks on a layer of paper towel. Put several more paper towels on top and a cutting board on top of that. Let sit for about 30 minutes, changing the paper towels when they are soaked. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and slice the tofu into cubes. Put them in an oiled roasting pan and lightly coat the tofu with oil (I use sesame oil). Bake for about 15 minutes, then turn the tofu over and bake for another 15 minutes. During the last several minutes of baking I add a few dashes of soy sauce.

Cook udon noodles in boiling water according to the package directions. Rinse with cool water and drain well, getting as much water off as possible.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a non-stick saute pan and cook the shredded Brussels sprouts and carrots with ¼ tsp Seven Spice until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan.

In the same non-stock pan, heat another 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the noodles and press them down evenly across the pan with a spatula, then let them cook undisturbed over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes. The noodles should turn golden brown on the bottom and begin to form a noodle pancake. When they are cooked enough that you can flip the whole “pancake” with a spatula (or two), turn them over and let them cook several minutes on this side. Add the cooked vegetables on top, along with the soy sauce, rice vinegar and remaining ¾ tsp Seven Spice. Break up the noodles and stir everything together. Once heated through, with some of the noodles crispy and some of them soft, serve with tofu on top.

In the past I’ve only made these sandwich cookies at Christmastime (with a cream cheese frosting in the middle), but I found myself on Pinterest the other day scrolling through purple wedding ideas (courtesy of Martha Stewart) for no good reason, and I saw a photo of a tray of molasses cookies stuffed with purple huckleberry ice cream. Gorgeous! How does the woman come up with these things? I had to go to the store immediately to pick up some non-dairy ice cream so I could try these and see if they tasted as good as they look. They do. Any flavor ice cream will work, but I’d recommend sticking with vanilla or coconut ice cream because the molasses-ginger taste of the cookie is quite spectacular. If you don’t want anything in the middle or simply can’t wait to eat them, they are wonderful on their own.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir by hand well until all the ingredients are blended into a moist ball of dough. The dough will seem dry at first, but keep stirring and folding and it will come together. If needed add in extra water one spoonful at a time until the dough consistency is reached.

Freeze the dough for 15 minutes then roll out the dough to cookie cutter circle shapes for baking. Or what I do is simply take a heaping tablespoon of dough, roll it into a ball, roll each ball in sugar, place on greased cookie sheet, then press down slightly with the back of a spoon. (Make sure all your balls are the same size.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, depending on their size. Cookies will firm up when they cool. Note: do not over-bake – or you will get gingerSNAPS.

Allow the cookies to cool at least 30 minutes before frosting or adding ice cream. If using ice cream, keep the sandwich cookies in the freezer until ready to eat.

]]>http://forkbelly.com/molasses-ginger-cookies/feed/0http://forkbelly.com/molasses-ginger-cookies/Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Barshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/0KxcydPG1CQ/
http://forkbelly.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-pretzel-bars/#commentsFri, 15 Mar 2013 16:47:58 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3313Read More »]]>If you like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and who doesn’t, you’ll love this quick and easy recipe for pretzel bars. As the makers of Reese’s like to point out, chocolate and peanut butter taste great together. Remember all the commercials they used to run about two random people out in public, one eating out of a jar of peanut butter and one eating a bar of chocolate, who somehow collide with each other? After angrily exclaiming, “Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter! No, you got your peanut butter on my chocolate!” they both eat it anyway, discover what a delicious combination it is, and then become friends or fall in love and live happily ever after. (Watch this vintage Reese’s commercial clip featuring a couple of famous faces before they were famous. If you’re under the age of 45, you probably won’t know who either of them are.)

I found the original recipe for these butter-filled pretzel bars on the King Arthur website, and it took me a couple of tries to make a vegan-version where the crust didn’t crumble into bits. You can use either pretzel sticks or the small pretzel-shaped pretzels, because you end up crushing them anyway.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with parchment, leaving the ends long to create a sling. This will make removing the bars easier. (I was out of parchment paper so I sprayed the pan with Pam and it worked just fine.)

To make the crust: Combine the flour, ground pretzels (I ground them in a food processor), sugar and salt, mixing with your fingers to sift and combine. Add the canola oil and milk and mix again until you have a soft but not wet dough.

Press the dough into the pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The crust won’t brown much, but will firm up nicely. Remove it from the oven and cool completely.

To make the filling: In a double boiler or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips. Add the peanut butter, stirring until well combined and smooth. Pour the filling over the crust.

Spread the filling evenly over the crust, and tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles. Sprinkle more crushed pretzels on top for added crunch.

If you want them to set-up quickly, chill in the freezer for 45 to 60 minutes. Use the parchment to lift the bars out of the pan. Slice into squares or bars. You can serve frozen; just chilled, or at room temperature — these bars are great no matter what!

]]>http://forkbelly.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-pretzel-bars/feed/1http://forkbelly.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-pretzel-bars/Avocado Souphttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/imWiWIlWZYM/
http://forkbelly.com/avocado-soup/#commentsWed, 06 Mar 2013 19:20:09 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3264Read More »]]>I think I can safely assume that everyone is sick of winter by now, especially those of you in the central and eastern parts of the country who just got socked with another huge snowstorm. Outside my house I have seen some robins in the bare trees, but they’re wet and shivering and singing a sad song. While there’s nothing we can do to warm things up outside, you can warm up your insides and bring a little bit of spring into your kitchen with this bright and fresh Avocado Soup.

Avocados sometimes get a bad rap because of their high fat content, but they contain the heart-healthy, monounsaturated kind of fat. Besides that, they can help lower cholesterol, regulate blood pressure and protect against heart disease and stroke. They’re a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium and folate, and they’re very low in sodium and cholesterol-free.

Also known as alligator pears because of their shape, green skin and rough texture (the Haas variety), avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable. I found out a lot of interesting facts about the avocado, but the most curious one was that the avocado got its name from the ancient Aztec word for “testicle.” Hmmmm.

Avocados are abundant right now, but if you have trouble finding some that are ripe, you can speed up the ripening process by placing them in a paper bag for a day or two. One more tip: in order to retain their nutritional content, avocados should either be eaten raw or heated gently and not cooked.

In a soup pot over medium heat, add oil and cook the onions, bell pepper, poblano pepper and garlic for 6 to 8 minutes or until the onions and peppers are tender. Stir in the cumin, enchilada sauce, and 3 cups of the broth. Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the avocados and crushed red pepper. Purée in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Return to the pot and warm gently. If the soup is too thick, add additional broth. Season with lime juice, cilantro (if using), salt and pepper. Serve hot, garnished with chopped avocado, tomato and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.

]]>http://forkbelly.com/avocado-soup/feed/2http://forkbelly.com/avocado-soup/Coconut Kormahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/D0fO9exod0s/
http://forkbelly.com/coconut-korma/#commentsFri, 22 Feb 2013 17:13:22 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3208Read More »]]>This recipe was sent to me by my friend Lolly. I’ve known Lolly for ten years, and I’ve always admired the way she takes the time every day to make a home-cooked dinner for her family. It’s important to her. And I’m talking about a sit-down, made-from-scratch, multiple item dinner à la June Cleaver, minus the pearls. (And with a job outside the home.) She cooks even if she isn’t going to be home for dinner. Even now that her girls have left the nest and it’s just her husband and herself. Even as her friends (me) are always offering helpful dinner suggestions: “just buy some hummus and cut up some vegetables” and “John could just have a bowl of cereal for dinner.” Her answer has always been the same. “That’s not a real dinner.”

This Coconut Korma is a rich delicious stew that’s easy to make. You can vary the vegetables as well as the heat level. It tastes great the next day, and the day after that. Here is Lolly’s recipe, and it’s a real dinner.

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the brown mustard seeds and cook for about 2 minutes until they start popping, then add onions and shallots (if using).

When onions start to soften add the garlic, ginger and spices. Cook for about 1 minute then add a ½ cup of water to the pan, stir and then add the cauliflower, carrots and red bell peppers. Cover with lid and cook for about five minutes, until just beginning to soften.

Add the cans of tomato sauce and coconut milk. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes.

When the veggies in the curry are cooked, add in the peas, cilantro, and salt.

]]>http://forkbelly.com/coconut-korma/feed/3http://forkbelly.com/coconut-korma/Chocolate Puddinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/ba4JW5Ds6bs/
http://forkbelly.com/chocolate-pudding/#commentsThu, 14 Feb 2013 16:01:46 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3179Read More »]]>If you’ve never made pudding from scratch before, it couldn’t be easier. I adapted this recipe from a non-vegan pudding on the PCC Natural Markets website. It has a dash of cinnamon, cloves and cayenne pepper to give it a rich complex flavor. And if you’re looking for something to spice up your Valentine’s Day, I prefer this over wandering aimlessly through the Love Pantry.

While today’s focus is on affairs of the heart and celebrating with heart-shaped gifts, let’s remember to show our hearts some love. The best foods for your heart, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, are nuts, whole soy protein, garlic, green tea and soluble fiber.

The four worst foods for your heart? Trans-fats. Found in most margarines, snack foods, heavily processed foods and some cooking oils. Animal protein. Excessive animal protein has been shown to raise levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that in high concentrations may contribute to heart disease. Refined carbohydrates. Sodium. Excessive sodium has been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease.

In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt and spices. Whisk in ⅓ cup cold milk a little at a time to create a smooth, thin paste.

In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate and remaining 1⅔ cups milk. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted. Gradually whisk the cocoa paste into the chocolate mixture, continuing to stir over low heat until the pudding thickens. Cook for 1 minute more.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in vanilla extract.

Divide among 4 dishes and serve warm or cover the surface of the pudding directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fully set, about 2 hours.

]]>http://forkbelly.com/chocolate-pudding/feed/1http://forkbelly.com/chocolate-pudding/Banana Ice Cream and Baconhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/9QEBzPtc2u8/
http://forkbelly.com/banana-ice-cream-and-bacon/#commentsThu, 07 Feb 2013 23:28:33 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3145Read More »]]>I’ve started a new category under recipes called Tips, Tricks and Treats. These won’t be full-fledged recipes, but rather easy, amazing, fantastic finds. I’m posting two today.

Banana soft serve ice cream comes from the Choosing Raw website. No freezing necessary. Gena says it will change your life, and I agree. The ingredients are as follows: 2 Frozen Bananas. That’s it. Oh and you’ll need a food processor. I freeze my ripe bananas when I have too many to eat (just peel, slice, and freeze in baggies) and I’ve always used them in smoothies- until now. Now they will forever be turned into ice cream. This is how it works: throw the frozen bananas in the food processor and turn it on. It will shake violently for a few seconds and then start to settle down. Let it run for about 4-5 minutes, stopping every now and then to scape down the sides. The first time I made this the banana chunks formed into one big ball, but I stopped the food processor, poked it and it started to stretch out again. Keep going until your ice cream is smooth and creamy. Towards the end I threw in a tablespoon of peanut butter, but that’s optional. You could also add chocolate, strawberries or anything else that sounds good. It’s unbelievably rich and creamy and available for immediate gratification.

Bacon. This second tip also changed my life. And Matt’s. I found a great vegan substitute for bacon. It’s true. From The Delicious Life comes a tutorial on how to turn a plain old shiitake mushroom into bacon. And all I can say is “Holy shiitake”! Just slice them, toss them with a little olive oil and roast them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20-30 minutes until crisp. I can’t even begin to name all the dishes you could put these on, but I’ve already added them to stuffed mushrooms, baked potatoes and pasta. And eating them plain is also a good option.

]]>http://forkbelly.com/banana-ice-cream-and-bacon/feed/1http://forkbelly.com/banana-ice-cream-and-bacon/Vegan Pizzahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Forkbellycom/~3/m-gLoUBo4QM/
http://forkbelly.com/vegan-pizza/#commentsFri, 01 Feb 2013 22:20:30 +0000http://forkbelly.com/?p=3078Read More »]]>When it comes to planning a menu for a Super Bowl Party, folks on a plant-based diet have it easy. So many wonderful possibilities from chili to veggie burgers, from hummus to black bean dip to guacamole. Dig in. This year I’m planning to serve our favorite food in the whole world: pizza.

I wish I knew the exact number of pizzas that Matt and I have consumed together. We’ve been married for 30 years, and together for two years before that. On average, we’ve probably had a pizza a week. Yes, there were some weeks we didn’t eat pizza, but there were many times when we were traveling or on vacation that we ate pizza almost every day. So if my math is correct, that comes to around 1,664 pizzas. That number seems low to me.

Switching to a plant-based diet, the biggest adjustment for us was changing up our pizza. No more sausage and no more cheese. That left us just a crust and some sauce. Pretty devastating. There are still times, I admit, when we fall off the wagon and order a veggie pizza with half the amount of cheese, thinking that it’s only partially cheating if your pizza only has partial cheese. But we’re making progress. I’ve spent a lot of time playing around with various vegetable toppings (broccoli on a pizza is just plain wrong) and I’ve finally come up with a pizza that we both agree is hearty and meaty and satisfying. No cheese needed.

I start with vegan pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. I used to make my own pizza dough, but TJ’s dough is ready to roll out, comes in white and whole wheat, and sells for $1.29. It’s just so easy. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s in your area, there are lots of good pizza dough recipes available on the internet. The other product I use is Gardein Meatless Ground. It’s a soy-based meat substitute with the look and texture of ground beef, and it’s wonderful for pizza, tacos, chili, stuffed peppers, etc. It is a little bland-tasting right out of the bag, so you’ll want to add salt and spices. In addition to the meatless ground, our toppings usually include roasted garlic and red peppers, onions, mushrooms, capers and kalamata olives. (And jalapeños for Matt.)

The list of possible pizza toppings is endless. Sometimes I’ll use vegan pesto as a base instead of red sauce, with a wild-mushroom medly on top. Our favorite pizza place, North Fork Brewery, makes a fantastic vegan Greek pizza drizzled with balsamic vinegar syrup. With all these amazing combinations, I’m looking forward to our next 1,664 pizzas!

Remove pizza dough from fridge and let it sit on a floured cutting board for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a skillet, heat one package of meatless ground and toss with salt and Italian seasoning. (Or any other spices you like.) If you don’t use it all on your pizza, save the rest in a baggie for another meal.

I like to pre-cook the vegetables a bit. In a large baking pan, combine mushrooms, onion and garlic and toss with olive oil. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Turn up the oven to 425 degrees and preheat your pizza stone, if you have one.

Roll out pizza dough to a 13 inch circle, about the same size as a pizza stone.

Brush dough with olive oil and use a fork to poke holes across the surface to help prevent air bubbles. Bake crust on a stone or pizza pan for two minutes then remove from oven.

Top with sauce and meatless ground and veggies and then bake for another 5-6 minutes. Let pizza cool for a few minutes before eating, if you can.